At the Conference of the Serbian Diaspora in Washington, BiH Ambassador to the USA Bojan Vujić said that leadership of the Republic of Srpska had been committed for years to strengthening the ties between the Serbian diaspora in America and their families and friends in Srpska.

Conveying the greetings of the Chairwoman and Serb member of the BiH Presidency, Željka Cvijanović, and President of the Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik, Vujić said that Srpska’s leadership recognized the vital importance of such efforts to have the Serbian voice heard in Washington and to strengthen the ties between the Serbian and American people.

– As Serbs in America, we can all be proud of the contributions made by Serbs in America – starting with Nikola Tesla, Mihajlo Pupin, Marina Abramović, Novak Djoković, Nikola Jokić and many others – Vujić said.

He also referred to the history of positive relations, recalling that, of all the nations in the Western Balkans, only the Serbs had been US allies in both world wars.

The Head of the Republic of Srpska Representative Office in Washington, Obrad Kesić, said that such gathering ‘brings back new energy into old undertakings’, and that he deemed it important to recall past experiences for the sake of lessons for the future.

Serbian Ambassador to the USA, Marko Đurić, pointed out that the Serbian diaspora conference was the initial impulse for future gatherings of Serbs in the USA.

Opening the conference, which was organized by the Serbian Embassy in Washington, Đurić expressed satisfaction with the fact that Serbian community representatives had come from all over America.

He said that this event, symbolically named Strengthening the Ties, would not had happened if the awareness of the importance of this gathering had not matured in Serbia, and expressed his gratitude to the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and the Government for supporting the organization of the conference.

– We are at a turning point in history, when fate of the Serbian people is being decided in all parts of our historical ethnic space – from Belgrade, our northern plain, to Kosovo and Metohija, and to other parts of the former Yugoslavia where Serbs live – said Đurić.

He invited the attendees to support cooperation improvement between Serbia and the USA.

Serbian Consul General in Chicago, Damjan Jović, said that the conference had laid the foundation for Serbian organizing in America in the coming years and decades, and conveyed to the members of the diaspora Serbia’s gratitude for all the friendship and cooperation bridges that they built daily between the two countries.

– The success of each our individual represents joint success of all and a reason for common joy. Finally, I would like to ask you, regardless of where you live and work, to always carry in your heart our most beautiful Serbia, Republic of Srpska and our crucified Kosovo and Metohija – concluded Jović.

His Eminence Bishop Irinej of Eastern America thanked the large number of participants of the conference for responding to the gathering, and noted that they actually responded to the call of their country.

– I am grateful that our Serbia is returning more and more to itself – to the Serbia it once was, is and will be – said the Bishop.

The Director of the Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region, Arnaud Gouillon, said that the Serbian diaspora represented significant economic, cultural and intellectual potential.

He expressed his belief that one of the results of the conference would be an agreement on opening several Serbian language schools in America.

The speeches were followed by three thematic panel discussions where prominent Serbian-American individuals and representatives of the most successful organizations, institutions and companies discussed the potential for connecting and cooperation strengthening of the Serbian diaspora in the USA with the motherland in the fields of culture and education, economy and philanthropy.

Ambassador Richard Grenell, former Acting Director of the US National Intelligence Service, spoke via video message in which, having extended best wishes on the occasion of Serbia’s Statehood Day, he congratulated the participants on the success of the conference, rating it as a fantastic occasion for the gathering.

He expressed hope that America and Serbia would be able to establish a completely new relationship that would be the closest so far, which, according to him, he was working on personally.

The Mother Serbia award for outstanding contribution, results and merits in relations between the motherland and the diaspora was awarded at the conference to the Serbian-American scientist David Vujić (David Vuich). Vujić is one of the seven scientists who participated in the NASA Apollo space mission.

The Strengthening the Ties conference of the Serbian diaspora in the USA concluded with a gala reception in the new Serbian Embassy building in Washington, which also marked the Serbian Statehood Day.

Source: RTRS-SRNA

Photo: ATV